Levine



Jan. 24, 1956 H. LEVINE 2,732,000

APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING BRIDGE STOPS TO SLIDE FASTENERS Filed April 11,1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 i E I E I 5(a'\ 3;! 82 u \N INVENTOR.

5 9 HARRY LEVINE o Z)o ATTORNEY H. LEVINE Jan. 24, 1956 APPARATUS FORATTACHING BRIDGE STOPS TO SLIDE FASTENERS Filed April 11, 1951 4Sheets-Sheet 2 llllllllllllllll III.

IN V EN TOR. HARRY LEVINE A TORNEY Jan. 24, 1956 E 2,732,000

APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING BRIDGE STOPS TO SLIDE FASTENERS Filed April 11,1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 HARRY LEVlNE Jan. 24, 1956 LEV|NE 2,732,000

APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING BRIDGE STOPS T0 SLIDE FASTENERS Filed April 11,1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. HARRY LEVINE ATTO [\EY lW m u i CV15.

United States Patent APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING BRIDGE STOPS T O SLIDEFASTENERS Harry Levine, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application April 11, 1951, Serial No. 220,490

Claims. (Cl. 153-1) This invention relates to an apparatus for attachingbridge stops to slide fasteners.

It is an object of my invention to provide an apparatus of the characterdescribed wherein a novel arranging mechanism is included to withdrawbridge stops in predetermined position from a jumbled mass for deliveryto a clinching mechanism.

It is another object of my invention to provide in an apparatus of thecharacter described a clinching mechanism which will mount bridge stopson slide fasteners quickly and accurately.

It is another object of my invention to provide an apparatus of thecharacter described which can be operated at low cost and withoutskilled help.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and in part willbe pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combinations of elements and arrangements of parts, which will beexemplified in the machine hereinafter described, and the scope of whichwill be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which is shown one of the variouspossible embodiments of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a side view of a bridge stop attaching apparatus constructedin accordance with the instant invention, the same being shown after thetermination of a clinching cycle;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 22 of Fig.1;

Fig. 3 is a front view of the apparatus;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 4--4 ofFig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, but drawn to a larger scale andshowing the apparatus at about the middle of its clinching cycle;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a bridge stop of the type adapted to beattached in a machine embodying the present invention;

Fig. 7 is a front view of the arranging mechanism, a portion beingbroken away better to illustrate the action thereof;

Figs. 8, 9 and are enlarged sectional views taken substantially alongthe lines 8-8, 9-9 and 1010, respectively, of Fig. 7;

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of one of the halves of a die-nest whichforms part of the clinching mechanism;

Fig. 12 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line1212 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 13 is an enlarged fragment of Fig. 5 but showing the clinchingmechanism on a greater scale and shortly after the start of a clinchingcycle;

Figs. 14, 15 and 16 are views sim lar to Fig. 13, but at successivelylater stages of the clinching cycle;

Fig. 17 is an enlarged fragment of Fig. 3 showing the clinchingmechanism on a greater scale;

Fig. 18 is a plan view of the anvil with a slide fastener stringer inposition to have a bridge stop attached; and

Fig. 19 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 19-19 ofFig. 17.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the reference numeral 20denotes a machine embodying the invention and designed to handleconventional bridge stops 22 of the type shown in Fig. 6.

Such a bridge stop includes two legs 24, 26 disposed at approximatelyright angles to one another and joined by a rounded base 28. Each leg24, 26 is of U-shaped cross-section and thus includes a pair of parallelflanges 30, 32. The base 28 is of similar cross-section, except that itsflanges are considerably shorter, so as to provide a notch 34 at eachside of the bridge stop intermediate the flanges of the legs. Thedistance between the flanges of each leg is somewhat greater than thethickness of the beaded edges 230 of a pair of slide fastener stringerson which the end stop is designed to be secured. The stop is adapted tohave the beaded edge of one stringer clamped between the flanges of oneof the legs 24 and the beaded edge of another stringer caught betweenthe flanges of the other leg 26, with the stop located right after thelast slide fastener element on one of the stringers so that the beadededges converge into abutment at the base 28. This position of the bridgestop is shown in Fig. 19. The machine 20 is constructed to secure abridge stop in the aforesaid position.

In general, said machine comprises a hopper in which a jumbled mass ofbridge stops are contained, an arranging mechanism for withdrawingbridge stops from the mass in predetermined position, a gravity chute,and a clinching mechanism for introducing the beaded edges of a pair ofstringers between the flanges in the two legs of a bridge stop andclamping the flanges around said edges while maintaining the stop inproper position.

The arranging mechanism 36 comprises a flat vertical plate 38 (Figs. 1,3, 8 and 10) having a large through aperture 40 (Figs. 4 and 10) nearits top. Said aperture constitutes the open bottom of a hopper 42through whose top 44 bridge stops are adapted to be introduced in randomrelationship.

A horizontal shaft 46 journalled in the plate 38 is continually rotatedin a manner which later will be described. A non-circular portion ofsaid shaft (Fig. 7) engages a bell 48 so that the bell will turntherewith. Thus bridge stops introduced into the hopper will fall bygravity through the aperture 40 into the lower portion of the bell wherethey will be held between the bell and the plate 33.

The rim of the bell which turns against the plate is provided withseveral radial slots 50 which, together with the adjacent surface of theplate define passageways. The inner mouth 52 of each passageway isflared (Fig. 7) to facilitate entry of bridge stops into the same. Theheight of each passageway is slightly greater than the height of abridge stop, this being (Fig. 6) the perpendicular distance from thepoint a or d to the line bc. The breadth of each passageway is slightlygreater than the breadth of a bridge stop.

Thus, a bridge stop is able to traverse a passageway if it enters thesame with the tip b, c of either leg foremost. However, a bridge stopcan enter a passageway either correctly or upside down, that is to say,either with the tips 12, c of the legs lowermost, which is the correctposition, or with said tips uppermost, which is incorrect. A bridge stopin correct position is indicated by the refernce numeral 54 in Fig. 7and a bridge stop in the incorrect position is indicated by thereference numeral 56 in the same figure.

To prevent a bridge stop from traversing a passageway in incorrectposition, each passageway is provided with a stub pin 58 (Figs. 7, 8 and9), extending away from the leading radial side of the slot 50, that isto say, in the leading side with respect to the direction of rotation Aof the bell 48. The pinis so short that it will clear the base 28 of abridge stop traversing the passageway in correct position. However, saidpin will engage the tip of either leg 24, 26 of a bridge stop attemptingto traverse the passageway in incorrect position.

Bridge stops correctly traversing a passageway will leave the outer endthereof in the position indicated by the reference numeral 60 in Fig. 7.Thereupon they will enter a circular channel 62 formed by a shoulder 64(Figs. 6, 8 and 10) raised on the plate 38 a uniform distrance from theperiphery of the bell. The open side of the channel is covered by aplate 66 mounted on the shoulder 64 and extending toward the bell. Thechannel 62 runs in a generally downward direction whereby bridge stopsintroduced into the same will descend under the force of gravity.

Upon rare occasions a bridge stop which traverses a passageway incorrect position will enter the channel 62 incorrectly. To prevent sucha reversed bridge stop from descending to the bottom of the channel, astub pin 63 is provided in that wall of the channel along which the base28 of a stop normally rides. Should a reversed bridge stop come down thechannel the tip [2, c of a leg 24, 26 will strike said pin and preventfurther descent. Thereafter, a bridge stop which has traversed apassageway in correct position and is about to enter the channel 62 willstrike the reversed bridge stop butting against the pin 64, and willsweep such bridge stop upwardly through the channel. At the top of thechannel, where the shoulder 64 is interrupted by the aperture 40, a leafspring '70 (Figs. 7 and 10) is disposed which, in effect, constitutes acontinuation of the plate 66. The spring is inclined slightly toward thehopper 42, the end of the spring remote from the plate 66 beingpositioned inwardly of the rim of the bell so that any bridge stop sweptupwardly along the channel 62 will be deflected by the spring into thehopper.

The shaft 46 mounts a pulley 72 (Fig. 3) driven by a belt 74 from apulley 76 (Fig. 2) on a countershaft $0. This shaft is turned by apulley 32, a belt 84 and a pulley 86 from a drive shaft 88 that isrotated by a motor 96) through a motor pulley 92, a belt 94 and aflywheel pulley 96. It thus will be seen that the bell 48 is turnedcontinually and properly oriented bridge stops continuously will beintroduced into the channel 62.

Said channel leads into a gravity chute 98 in a vertical plate 190having a lower sweep 102 (Fig. 3) terminating in a discharge terminus104 adjacent the transferring mechanism.

The transferring mechanism basically includes a transfer nest 106 and aplunger 107. Said transfer nest comprises two cooperating transferhalves 108, 110 which substantially are mirror images of one another sothat only one of the halves, e. g., half 110, will be described indetail and the same reference numerals will be used to designate likeparts. The slight difference between the two halves hereinafter will bepointed out.

The half 110 (Fig. 11) constitutes a block 112 from the forward edge ofwhich a pillar 114 extends. The surface 116 of the pillar facing theopposite transfer half 16? is formed with a plateau 118 whose upper edge12% is inclined downwardly away from the surface 122 of the plateaufacing the discharge terminus of the gravity chute. The inclination tothe horizontal of the edge 120 is substantially equal to or slightlyless than the inclination of the chute at said discharge terminus.

The juxtaposed surfaces 124 of the two transfer halves 108, 110 arearranged to be in face-to-face contact when the transfer nest receives abridge stop. The surface 116 of the transfer half 110 and thecorresponding surface of the transfer half 163 are set back from thesurfaces 124 of the blocks 122 an equal distance such that the distancetherebetween slightly exceeds the height of a bridge stop, 'thisheretofore having'bee'n defined 4 as the perpendicular distance from apoint a, d to the line bc (Fig. 6).

Only the transfer half is provided with a notch 126 in the plateau 118extending downwardly from the edge 120, this notch being located in aproper position to receive the tip 0 of the leg 26 of a bridge stopdisposed in the transfer nest. The depth of the notch is such that thebase thereof is in substantially the same horizontal plane as the lowerend of the edge 120. Accordingly, a bridge stop having the tip b of oneleg 24 resting on the lower end of the edge and the tip c of the otherleg 26 resting on the base of the notch 126 will be horizontal.

The other transfer half 103 is formed with a notch 128 (Fig. 12) whichcorresponds to the notch 126 but is in a position to receive the pointsd at the base of the leg 26. Another notch 130 is formed in the transferhalf 168 to receive the points a at the base of the leg 24. The notches128, 130 are of the proper depth to support in horizontal position abridge stop disposed in the transfer nest.

To maintain the forward portions of the two transfer halves in properrelative position each pillar 112 is provided with a finger 132, thejuxtaposed tips whereof abut when the surfaces 124 are in contact.

Each transfer half is supported by a vertical strip 134, the upper endsof the two strips being secured as by screws 136 (Fig. 3) to a post 138that is vertically reciprocal in a bearing block 140. A compressionspring 142 seated in a recess in the bearing block has its upper endengaging a finger 144 carried by the post 133 whereby to bias upwardlysaid post and the transfer nest. A stop screw 14-6 lying in the path ofthe finger 144 determines the upper position of the transfer nest.

The strips 134 are of stiff resilient metal whereby to urge the twohalves of the transfer nest toward one another. To increase the closingforce exerted on said two halves and to make the same adjustable therefurther is provided a compression spring 48 (Fig. 13) encircling theshank of a bolt which extends through registered openings 152 (Fig. 11)in the two halves, the the head 154 of the bolt being located on theouter surface of the half 11% and the threaded tip 156 of the belt whichreceives the compression spring 143 projecting from the outer face ofthe other half 108. This tip receives a nut 158 which may be tightenedor loosened to vary the compression under which the spring 143 is heldand thereby adjust the closing force exerted on the blocks 108, 110.

The gravity chute is provided with suitable means above its dischargeterminus to release one bridge stop near the end of each clinchingcycle. By way of example said means comprises an unbalanced dog 16%(Fig. 3) pivoted on a pin 162 secured to the gravity chute 98. A fiatspring 166 having one end attached to the plunger 107 is disposed toclear the pin 162 and to engage another pin 168 secured to the heavy endof the dog. The light end of the dog is formed with two verticallyspaced teeth 170, 172 adapted to enter the gravity chute at pointsspaced apart a distance slightly in excess of the length of a bridgestop.

At the beginning of a clinching cycle the spring 166 maintains'the pin168 in elevated position with the upper tooth 170 blocking the gravitychute. As the plungcr 167 descends, the spring 166 travels downwardlyand allows the unbalanced dog to rotate in a clockwise direction, asviewed in Fig. 3, thereby first moving the lower tooth 172 into thegravity chute and shortly thereafter withdrawing the tooth 170. At thistime the lowermost bridge stop in the chute descends from the tooth 176to the tooth 172. As the plunger moves upwardly at the end of aclinchingcycle, the spring'166 will reengagc the pin 168 and therebyfirst causing the upper tooth 179 to enter the gravity chute and thenwithdrawing the lower tooth 172 from the gravity chute. As this occurs,the

single bridge stop isolated between the teeth 170, 172 will be freed andwill descend rapidly through the sweep 102, exiting through thedischarge terminus 104 and shooting into the transfer nest 106.

The bridge stop enters the nest at an angle approximating that of theedges 120 of the plateaus 118 and slightly above the same so that as thestop falls freely it will slide along said edges and its speed bechecked so that when the leading leg strikes the half 110 the stop willnot bounce out of the nest. When the bridge stop comes to rest it willbe in a horizontal position with its forward leg resting on the bottomof an edge 120, its rear leg resting on the bottom of the notch 126 andthe points a, d resting on the bottoms of the notches 128, 130respectively.

The plunger 107 is carried on a rod 174 (Figs. 5 and 16) which dependsfrom a piston 176 slidable in a vertical bore 178 in a ram 180 that ismounted for vertical reciprocation in the bearing block 140. Said pistonis provided with an upright plunger 182 vertically reciprocable in abore 184 formed in the ram, a compression spring 186 being located inthe bore above the plunger to bias the piston 176 downwardly intoabutment with a stop plate 188 closing olf the lower end of the bore178.

The upper end of the ram is connected by a pin 190 (Figs. 1 and 5) to ashort link 192 which is pivoted at 194 to a rocking lever 196. Thislever oscillates about a shaft 198 and is pivotally secured to a longlink 200 whose lower end turns on a crank pm 202 (Fig. 2). The crank pinis carried on a crank arm 204 which turns with a shaft 206 that isconnected to the drive shaft 188 by a conventional one-revolution clutch208. The clutch 208 is actuated through a link 210 by a treadle 212.Thus, when the treadle is depressed, oscillation of the rocking lever196 will drive the ram 180 down to its lowermost (clinching) positionshown in Fig. 16 and then will restore it to its uppermost (idle)position shown in Figs. 3 and 4. r

The lower end of the plunger has a cross-sectional contour which matchesthe plan configuration of the bridge stop and its tip is provided with aridge 214 (Figs. 13-16) which leads the plunger, said ridge beinglocated on the edge of the plunger aligned with the free edges of thebridge stop flanges 30, 32.

Shortly after the start of a clinching cycle, when the ram has barelybegun its descent, the ridge 214 will contact the bridge stop located inthe transfer nest. The spring 186 (Fig. 5) is stronger than the spring142 (Fig. 3) and, accordingly, as the ram continues its downwardmovement the plunger will push the die-nest 106 ahead of it.

The apparatus 20 also includes an anvil 216 (Figs. 3 and 13-19) havingan upwardly extending gage plate 218 of hardened metal. Immediatelyadjacent the gage plate the anvil further includes a nub 220 having aflat surface juxtaposed with the gage plate and a convex side remotetherefrom. The convex side is shaped to match the contour of the base 28of a bridge stop. Further, the anvil is provided with a groove 222(Figs. 15 and 18) around the base of the convex side of the nub, saidgroove having a configuration which it is desired to impart to one sideof a bridge stop clenched on a slide fastener. The nub is in alignmentwith the concave side of a bridge stop in the transfer nest. Hence thegage plate 218 is offset from the space between the plateaus 118, beinglocated beneath the pillar 114 of the transfer half 110.

Downward movement of the transfer nest is halted when a pin 223 carriedon the finger 144 strikes the bottom of a blind hole in the block 140,the position of the transfer nest at this time being shown in Fig. 13.

The bases of the notches 126, 128, 130 are not square but, rather, slopedownwardly and inwardly into the space between the plateaus 118. Theedges 120 are similarly sloped in order to provide cam surfaces so thatas the plunger moves downwardly from its position shown in Fig. 13 itwill cause the bridge stop in the transfer nest to force the twohalves'of the nest apart, the spring 186 being strong enough to maintainthe plunger 186 against the stop plate 188 as the halves are spread.

The appearance of the transfer nest and plunger, shortly after thebridge stop has started to move down between the spread halves, is shownin Fig. 14 and the position of the same parts after the bridge stop hasbeen seated on the anvil against the nub 220 is illustrated in Fig. 15.It will be noted that control over the position of said stop ismaintained by holding the same between the bottom of the plunger and theanvil plate in a limited space defined bythe nub 220 and the plateaus118.

The descent of the ram continues after the bridge stop has been forceddown. However, downward movement of the plunger is stopped, inasmuch asthe bridge stop now is seated on the anvil. Further downward movement ofthe ram compresses the spring 186 until the top of the bore 178 strikesthe top of the piston 176. This occurs just shortly before the ramreaches its lowermost position and causes the plunger to be moveddownwardly an additional short distance sulficient to clinch a bridgestop, as shown in Fig. 16.

Thereafter the ram is retracted, first allowing the spring 186 toexpand, and then permitting the transfer nest to be raised. Upwardmovement of the transfer nest is stopped by abutment of the finger 144(Fig. 3) against the screw 146. Thereupon, the plunger will be pulledout of the transfer nest and the ram will move back to its idle positionat the end of the clinching cycle.

Before the clinching cycle is started, an operator places a pair ofslide fastener stringers 224, 226 (Fig. 18) on the anvil 216 with thegage plate 218 between the stringers and engaging the beaded edges 230thereof. The endmost slide fastener element 232 on one of the stringersis abutted against the face of the gage plate remote from the nub 220.With this arrangement, portions of the stringers be yond the endmostelements are spaced apart and there thus is provided sufficient roombetween the beaded edges to permit a bridge stop to be forced down onthe anvil alongside the nub between the two stringers.

Means is provided to force the spaced beaded edges of the two stringersbetween the flanges 30, 32, of the legs 24, 26 of a bridge stop. Saidmeans comprises a pair of fingers 233, 234 (Figs. l7-l9) pivoted onopposite ends of a horizontal bar 236. A tension spring 238 is stretchedbetween pins 240 on the fingers above the pivots whereby to bias apartthe tips of said fingers. Suitable stop means (not shown) limits thisoutward movement of the fingers to the position shown in Figs. 3 and 18.The fingers extend downwardly and toward one another from the pivotpoints, the bottom edges of said fingers being rounded. The bar 236 issecured on a slide 242 (Fig. 4) mounted for vertical reciprocation inthe bearing block 140. Said bar is biased upwardly by a spring 244 heldunder compression between the base of a well in the bearing block and afinger 246 movable with the slide 242.

The link 192 has a knuckle 248 (Figs. 3-5) from which a driver pin 250depends. The link oscillates about the pin as the ram descends and theparts are so proportioned that, shortly after the bridge step has beenforced through the open halves of the transfer nest, the bottom edges ofthe fingers 232, 234 will approach close to the anvil 216. At this timethe fingers will be spread apart, as indicated in Figs. 3 and 18, theirposition with respect to the beaded edges of the slide fastenerstringers being indicated by dot-and-dash lines in Fig. 18. Thus as thefingers descend they will contact the tapes 228 of the slide fastenerstringers at points just outside of the beaded edges 230. Furtherdownward movement of the fingers caused by further downward movement ofthe pin 190 causes said fingers to be forced together by a cammingaction of their bottom edges against the tapes. The fingers quickly willbring the beaded edges of the tapes into abutment at a point a veryshort distance away from a bridge stop alongside the nub 220. Themachine is so timed-so that shortly after the beadededges of the tapesare abutted the'clinching action heretofore described will take place. 7

As pointed out earlier, restoration of the ram to its uppermost positionreleases a single bridge stop which descends through the sweep 102 ofthe gravity chute and is received in the transfer nest ready to bemounted on another pair of stringers in a subsequent clinching cycle.

It thus will be seen that I haveprovided a device which achieves all theobjects of my invention and is well adapted to meet the conditions ofpractical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made in the above invention,and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth,it is to be understood that all matter herein described, or shown in theaccompanying drawings, is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. In a machine for mounting on slide fastener stringers bridge stopsincluding two legs disposed at an angle to one another and joined by abase, each of said legs being of U-shaped cross-section: a clinchingmechanism comprising a stationary frame, a transfer nest including twotransfer halves, means resiliently urging said halves into abutment,said halves when abutted forming a pocket having a passageway leadingfrom the side of the nest into said pocket to freely admit a bridgestop, said pocket opening from top to bottom when the halves are movedapart, means mounting said halves for joint vertical reciprocation withrespect to said frame, means resiliently biasing said transfer nestupwardly, means limiting upward movement of said transfer nest, aplunger, means to mount said plunger for vertical reciprocation withrespect to said frame in vertical alignment with said pocket and intoand out of the same from above, said pocket having an upwardly extendingpassageway to freely admit said plunger, means including a springvertically reciprocating said plunger, said plunger spring beingstronger than the means biasing the transfer nest upwardly whereby whenthe plunger descends and engages a bridge stop in the pocket it willforcethe transfer nest downwardly, an anvil fixed to the frame beneaththe transfer nest, a gage plate mounted on said anvil in line with oneof said halves and clear of the other half and against which the endelements of a pair of slide fastener stringers are adapted to beabutted, abutment means limiting downward movement of the transfer nestwhen the transfer nest is adjacent the gage plate, said pocket having abottom on which a stop in said pocket rests, each of said halvesincluding a portion of said bottom, the said portions of the saidopposite halves converging downwardly toward one another to provide camsurfaces which spread the halves apart when the stop is pressed downafter downward movement of the transfer nest'is halted whereby continueddownward movement of the plunger will spread the halves of the transfernest and drive a bridge stop between said halves down to the anvilalongside the gage plate, said anvil being formed adjacent the gageplate with a positioning nub against which a bridge stop is locatedbetween the spread halves of the transfer nest after being driven down,means limiting compression of the plunger spring whereby after aninterval following the spreading of the transfer halves and descent ofthe bridge stop the plunger will clinch the legs of said stop, a'pair offingers, a member, means mounting the member for vertical reciprocationwith regard to said frame, means urging said member upwardly to anuppermost position, means mounting said fingers on said member forrotation about horizontally spaced parallel axes, means biasing the tipsof said fingers apart, means limiting said biasing movement to aposition with the tips of the fingers inclined downwardly toward oneanother, said fingers in uppermost position being disposed above theanvil a short distance from the nub, and means operatively associatedwith said plunger reciprocating means to move said member downwardlyafter the halves are spread and before the legs of the bridge stop areclinched whereby said fingers will engage the tapes of slide fastenerstringers on the anvil and force the beaded edges thereof together andinto the U-shaped legs of a bridge stop on the anvil.

2. In a machine for mounting on slide fastener stringers bridge stopsincluding two legs disposed at an angle to one another and joined by abase, each of said legs being of U-shaped cross-section: a clinchingmechanism comprising a transfer nest including a stationary frame, twotransfer halves, means resiliently urging said halves into abutment,said halves when abutted forming a pocket having a passageway leadingfrom the side of the nest into said pocket to freely admit a bridgestop, said pocket opening from top to bottom when the halves are movedapart, means mounting said halves for joint vertical reciprocation withrespect to said frame, means resiliently biasing said transfer nestupwardly, means limiting upward movement of said transfer nest, aplunger, means mounting said plunger for vertical reciprocation withrespect to said frame in vertical alignment with said pocket and intoand out of the same from above, said pocket having an upwardly extendingpassageway to freely admit said plunger, means including a springvertically reciprocating said plunger, said plunger spring beingstronger than the means biasing the transfer nest upwardly whereby whenthe plunger descends and engages a bridge stop in the pocket it willforce the transfer nest downwardly, an anvil fixed to the frame beneaththe transfer nest, a gage plate mounted on said anvil in line with oneof said halves and clear of the other half and against which the endelements of a pair of slide fastener stringers are adapted to beabutted, means limiting downward movement of the transfer nest when thetransfer nest is adjacent the gage plate, said pocket having a bottom onwhich a stop in said pocket rests, each of said halves including aportion of said bottom, the said portions of the said opposite halvesconverging downwardly toward one another to provide cam surfaces whichspread the halves apart when the stop is pressed down after downwardmovement of the transfer nest is halted whereby continued downwardmovement of the plunger will spread the halves of the transfer nest anddrive a bridge stop between said halves down to the anvil alongside thegage plate, said anvil being formed adjacent the gage plate with apositioning nub against which a bridge stop is located between thespread halves of the transfer nest after being driven down, and meanslimiting compression of the plunger spring whereby after an intervalfollowing the spreading of the transfer halves and descent of the bridgestop the plunger will clinch the legs of said stop.

3. In a machine for mounting on slide fastener stringers bridge stopsincluding two legs disposed at an angle to one another and joined by abase, each of said legs being of U-shaped cross-section: a clinchingmechanism comprising a stationary frame, an inclined delivery chuteafiixed to the frame, a transfer nest including two transfer halves,means resiliently urging said halves into abutment, said halves whenabutted forming a pocket having a bottom inclined at approximately theangle of the chute, said bottom extending to the side of the transfernest at which the chute is located, said bottom having notches thereinto receive portions of a bridge stop horizontally disposed in the pocketwith an end thereof resting on the bottom at the side of the bottomremote from the chute, said pocket opening from top to bottom when thehalves are moved apart, means mounting said halves for joint verticalreciprocation with respect to said frame, means resiliently biasing saidtransfer nest upwardly, means limiting upward movement of said transfernest, a plunger, means mounting said plunger for vertical reciprocationwith respect to said frame in vertical alignment with-said pocket andinto and out of the same from above, said pocket having an upwardlyextending passageway to freely admit said plunger, means including aspring vertically reciprocating said plunger, said plunger spring beingstronger than the means biasing the transfer nest upwardly whereby whenthe plunger descends and engages a bridge stop in the pocket it willforce the transfer nest downwardly, an anvil fixed to the frame beneaththe transfer nest, a gage plate mounted on saidanvil in line with one ofsaid halves and clear of the other half and against which the endelements of a pair of slide fastener stringers are adapted to beabutted, abutment means limiting downward movement of the transfer nestwhen the transfer nest is adjacent the gage plate, each of the halves ofthe transfer nest including a portion of the bottom of said nest, thebottom portions of the two halves converging downwardly toward oneanother to provide cam surfaces which spread the halves apart when thestop is pressed down after downward movement of the transfer nest ishalted whereby continued downward movement of the plunger will spreadthe halves of the transfer nest and drive a bridge stop between saidhalves down to the anvil alongside the gage plate, said anvil beingformed adjacent the gage plate with a positioning nub against which abridge stop is located between the spread halves after being driven downby the plunger, and means limiting compression of the plunger springwhereby after an interval following the spreading of the transfer halvesand descent of the bridge stop the plunger will clinch the legs of saidstop.

4. For use in a mechanism for clinching on slide fastener stringersbridge stops including two legs disposed at an angle to one another andjoined by a base, an inclined delivery chute, a transfer nest includingtwo transfer halves, and means resiliently urging said halves intoabutment, said halves when abutted forming a pocket having a bottominclined at approximately the angle of the chute, said bottom extendingto the side of the transfer nest at which the chute is located, saidbottom having notches therein to receive portions of a bridge stophorizontally disposed in the pocket with an end thereof resting on thebottom at the side of the bottom remote from the chute.

5. In a machine for mounting on slide fastener stringers bridge stopsincluding two legs disposed at an angle to one another and joined by abase, each of said legs being of U-shaped cross section: a clinchingmechanism comprising a stationary frame, a transfer nest including twotransfer halves, means resiliently urging said halves into abutment,said halves when abutted forming a pocket having a passageway leadingfrom the side of the nest into said pocket to freely admit a bridgestop, said pocket opening from top to bottom when the halves are movedapart, means mounting said halves for joint vertical reciprocation withrespect to said frame, means resiliently biasing said transfer nestupwardly, means limiting upward movement of said transfer nest, aplunger, means mounting said plunger for vertical reciprocation withrespect to said frame in vertical alignment with said pocket and intoand out of the same from above, said pocket having an upwardly extendingpassageway to freely admit said plunger, means including a springvertically reciprocating said plunger, said plunger spring beingstronger than the means biasing the transfer nest upwardly whereby whenthe plunger descends and engages a bridge stop in the pocket it willforce the transfer nest downwardly, an anvil fixed to said frame beneaththe transfer nest, said anvil having a protuberance in line with one ofsaid halves and clear of the other half and against which a bridge stopis adapted to be located, abutment means to limit downward movement ofthe transfer nest when the transfer nest is adjacent the protuberance,said pocket having a bottom on which a stop in said pocket rests, eachof said halves including a portion of said bottom, the said portions ofthe said opposite halves converging downwardly toward one another toprovide cam surfaces which spread the halves apart when the stop ispressed down after downward movement of the transfer nest is haltedwhereby continued downward movement of the plunger will spread thehalves of the transfer nest and drive the bridge stop between the halvesdown to the anvil in position against said protuberance and between thespread halves, means rendering the plunger spring ineffective after aninterval so that upon subsequent downward movement of the plungerreciprocating means the plunger will clinch the legs of the bridge stop,and means operable after the bridge stop is driven down and before thelegs thereof are clinched to move the beaded edges of slide fastenerstringers on the anvil toward one another.

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